Beward of strangers bearing gifts
by delos13
Summary: Just like the title says, beware of strangers bearing gifts (even if they are not Greeks and the gift is not a wooden horse). Beware even more if you managed to insult them before...


Title: "Beware of strangers bearing gifts"

Word count: 6,000

Rating: Just like in the movies "This story contains violence, sexual language and scenes that not suitable for children. Some adults might find the contend offensive."

A/N: This story is a fruit of my imagination, please treat it as such. I am looking forward for your comments and truly appreciate the time you take to read and respond. I hope you enjoy the story.

Nearchos put the scrolls carefully on the table but then he kicked the nearby three legged chair in frustration.

"Boring! He finds my stories boring!" he fumed. "Alexander himself didn't find my stories boring but this impudent princeling yawns through the narrative and complains to his father that my lessons are dull."

Still very upset and not caring to do anything to calm himself, Nearchos bent and picked up the chair he threw away just moment ago. He put it back to the table and sat on it with a heavy sigh. He was getting old and useless. His former glory is gone and he had to work for his living. Yes, he considered being an advisor for Demetrius a necessary work that in no way could compare to the pleasure he had in his youth of serving the great Alexander. But Demetrius, son of Antigonus One-Eyed, didn't need much of his advising and passed him as a tutor for his own son, another Antigonus. The youngster, a grandson of Antigonus from his father side and of Antipater, the regent of Macedonia during Alexander's rule, from his mother side, didn't show much inclination to be a soldier nor did he want to learn from the wisdom of those who threaded the earth for the longer time than he did.

"Demetrious, that licentious scoundrel, wants me to educate his son in the same lewd ways he himself was brought up or picked from his debauched friends. He dares to tell me that my stories for his teenage son don't have enough sexual excitement appropriate for the youngster's age. Sexual excitement, my ass! Even king Philip never said such a thing to Aristotle though the old goat never missed an opportunity to fuck any good looking two legged creature and sure as Hades wanted to pass this sentiment to Alexander. What modern world has come to! Ah, Alexander, if you could only see what your generals did to your vast kingdom.

Sometimes I think it wasn't you who in your last breathing moments gave that cursed ring to Perdiccas with that ambiguous phrase "to the strongest". I think while gods were weeping upon your death in the beautiful halls of Olympus, the vicious Eris crept into your bedroom and gave that ring to Alexander's clueless generals exactly like she did all those centuries ago when she threw the golden apple with the inscription "to the fairest" during the wedding of Peleus and Thesis. You considered Achilles your ancestor, and it was very appropriate that your life ended the same way as Achilles started, with a seed of all engulfing strife and devastating war. Only the Trojan War lasted for just ten years but Alexander's generals and now their sons are trying to kill each other for more than fifteen years and I am sure their grandsons will continue the squabble.

But enough of the old man rattle; if Demetrius wants me to tell an inspiring sex tale from the time of Alexander, I surely can produce one. Let me think," and with those words Nearchus pulled a clean scroll from the shelf in the wall, scratched his nose with a butt of the sharp stylus and closed his eyes. But just after a few moments, the mischievous smile touched his lips and he opened his eyes now bright with a wicked sparkle in them.

"Before the battle of Issus, Alexander made me a satrap of Lycia and Pamphylia. I was very proud of the appointment at the time, I was the first from my Macedonian fellow generals to be made a satrap by Alexander but later I realized that I was missing a lot of fun. I didn't see Egypt and never took part in the two great battles of Alexander – that of Issus and Gaugamela. I never saw the glorious entrance of my king into Babylon, the treasures of Persepolis, never took part in the hunt after Darius. As a matter of fact, there was time when I seriously started to regret the honor that Alexander bestowed on me. I was on the verge of asking him to release me of my duties as governor when I received the request from Alexander to join him in Maracanda and bring him the reinforcements from Macedonia and Greece.

I rejoiced a great deal seeing my king and my old comrades again but soon the tragedy stroke, my old friend Black Kleitos was killed by Alexander during the feast that was supposed to celebrate Kleitos' appointment as governor of Bactria and Sogdia. Alexander took it very hard, he didn't want to see anybody for a long time and even afterwards he kept mostly to himself and avoided company of his friends and generals. Many attempts were made to distract him from his current morose mood but both his Macedonian friends and Persian officials that now surrounded the king to the displeasure of his countrymen failed miserably in this task.

Even Hephaistion could do nothing to bring the good mood back to the king and he was the one who rarely failed in this task. But the truth be told, the relationship between the king and his beloved general was somewhat cold at the time. You see, shortly before I rejoined Alexander's court, one of the Persian's satraps, Nabarzanes, surrendered to Alexander. One of the tricks he employed to appease the anger of Alexander (since the satrap previously took Bessos' side and was a participant in Darius' murder) was to bring Bagoas with him as a present to Alexander. Bagoas was a beautiful young eunuch and, according to Nabarzanes, he enjoyed the favors of Darius himself. Whether it was true or not, nobody knew for sure but I must admit that though I never took pleasure in the pervert Persian habit of bedding these unfortunate creatures, Bagoas almost unnatural beauty made many of us tremble in his presence and fantasize what it will feel like to possess him.

But Alexander didn't need to fantasize on the matter, Bagoas belonged to him and became his willing slave. Alexander seemed to be obsessed with him and heaped on him all sorts of gifts and over the brim attention. The catamite was almost constantly seen in the presence of the king and it wasn't unusual to spot him lurking in Alexander's bedroom or antechamber when our king chose to invite his generals there.

We didn't see much of Bagoas during the first days after the death of Black Kleitos and it was rumored that he alone shared the misery of Alexander serving him with his sweet words and willing body. Even after Anaxarchus' famous reminder to Alexander that he was a king and as such he was free to do whatever he wished with his subjects, the king remained gloomy and we saw little of him.

After all it was Hephaistion who managed to cheer up our sovereign by organizing a series of hunts in the forests to the north east. It wasn't only a hunt. It was also a trip to the remote region on the outskirts of Sogdiana to accept the surrender of the local tribes. Hephaistion lured the king with promises of beautiful vistas and peaceful people that would allow him to forget the grim reality of the recent tragedy. As anything organized by Hephaistion the trip was a huge success. It was early summer, the earth was abound with lavish vegetation, beautiful flowers, the crisp air was filled with divine aromas and sweet songs of birds. The locals weren't hostile like in other regions of Sogdiana, I think their friendliness came from the simple happiness in which they spent their lives and whatever conquerors came to their lands, they all succumbed to the beauty and abundance of this paradise and didn't spoil it with pillage and death.

We stopped at small cities and villages and everywhere we behaved as if we were in no harry at all, as if we were spending our entire lives going peacefully from one place to another and everywhere we were greeted with joy and open arms.

One day we came to a small city with a strange and curiously sounding name of Ata-akharot. The city laid at the boundary of a beautiful valley and a huge forest of trees the likes of which we never saw before. We were met by citizens who surrounded us with curiosity and cheerfully babbled their greetings and questions in the language we didn't understand. Nabarzanes and some of his officers who accompanied us on this trip served as our interpreters. We were taken to the manor of the Chief of this city, a cheerful and enthusiastic man in his sixties who enjoyed the good health and love of his family and his countryman. He didn't bear a title of the king and one could hardly call his place a palace. His name was Zhuduruck and he invited us for a supper later that day saying that in the meantime we can enjoy strolling through his city or visit nearby waterfalls and listen to the sounds of the water and whispers of the spirits that inhabited it. When we asked about the nearby forest that served as a magnificent backdrop to the whole valley, Zhuduruck welcomed us to visit it as well and told us about the trees that grew there.

The trees were called akharot and gave their name to the city. We were told that the trees bore the most heavenly tasty nuts but it wasn't the period for harvest that was obviously in the fall. Currently the nuts were still too green to eat but we'd sure enjoy the many delicious sweets prepared from them during the supper and also will have a chance to try some of the nuts saved from previous harvest.

It was Bagoas who spoiled this friendly encounter. Though the rest of our group were dressed in the simple travel attire he boasted a complicate costume that sparkled with golden threads, numerous jewels and the heavy smell of his perfume poisoned the otherwise pleasant air. In his usual haughty manner he admonished the old man not to boast about the things that he had, because whatever trifles he or his city possessed, they could never compare to the treasures of the Great King.

Zhuduruck, not knowing who Bagoas actually was, felt humiliated and discouraged. He mistakenly judged the eunuch by his clothes and thought that he was the Chief Minister or some other very important person. He mumbled his apologies and was about to offer even more when Alexander, though not reproaching Bagoas for his abominable behaviour, told Zhuduruck he had no reason to apologies because Bagoas, who was his dear eunuch, tended to take his king's honor before anything else but was actually a very good natured person who didn't mean any offence to anybody.

Zhuduruck seemed genially relieved but Bagoas had this unsurpassed desire to turn any situation to his advantage and very often at the expense of others, so instead of apologizing or dropping the matter completely, he started pompously explain the importance of his office and didn't fail to mention that only the greatest lords in Persia enjoyed the luxury of having the most beautiful and skillful eunuchs to serve them but such an insignificant barons as Zhuduruck would never have the ability to support and attract these highly prised individuals. "Why, I doubt you can afford any eunuch at all to serve at your household," haughtily announced Bagoas.

The Macedonian generals and other officers who accompanied Alexander, and I was among those, were indignant at this outrageous outburst but because king said nothing further, we felt it wise not to interfere. Nobody wanted to spoil the pleasant mood which the king seemed to enjoy these past few days.

Zhuduruck blushed at this new insult but responded with admirable dignity.

"I wouldn't dream of having a more beautiful eunuch that serves the Great King himself, but my eunuch Ashlan is young, good looking and of sweet nature. If it's not against my king's wishes, I will have him to attend today's banquet in your honour."

The words of the city governor pleased Alexander and he gracefully announced that he was looking forward to meeting this Ashlan and enjoying all the hospitality that this city had to offer.

I won't bore you with the description of the city and the modest dwelling where Zhuduruck prepared his banquet in Alexander's honour. At a matter of fact, because of the warm and pleasant weather the most of the banquet took place outside the house walls, in the open courtyard that was facing the forest. The benches and tables were placed for the guests and food and quite bearable wine were in abundance. There was some dancing and entertainment and local jongleurs showed us their skills of balancing and fire handling. Somewhere in the middle of this celebration a young man joined the festivities. He was introduced by Zhuduruck as Ashlan, his eunuch and he immediately earned the approving applause and whistles from the revellers. I can't say that he was more beautiful than Bagoas but he possessed the simplicity and grace that didn't require any embellishments. In addition to the local dialect he spoke Persian and communication with him was far easier that with his master.

Bagoas gave him only one disdainful look and throughout the whole eventing made a point of not looking in his direction. I bet it was rather hard for him because Alexander, wanting to please his host, lavished a numerous praises on the beauty and pleasant demeanor of the young man. He allowed the young man to kiss his hand and went as far as petting the blushing eunuch's cheek and commenting on the smoothness of his skin and his lips. Then the king, maybe in revenge for the earlier Bagoas' very inappropriate outburst or simply because he was really impressed with the smoothness of the young man's skin, said innocently, "I know that my dear Bagoas spends a lot of time taking care of his skin. He employs all sorts of creams and masks to make his skin as smooth and pliable as that of a baby yet yours seems so natural and fresh that I doubt you use any of those tricks." Ashlan blushed even deeper and murmured something unintelligible for the interpreter to catch.

Zhuduruck spared his eunuch the further embarrassment saying that Ashlan was not used to this sort of attention and if the Great King doesn't mind, he asks him to be excused from the further participation in the banquet. Alexander seemed reluctant for the young man to go but then I think he realized that the further presence of this charming young eunuch can provoke him into actions he would regret later and he gracefully waved his dismissal. After Ashlan's departure Bagoas seemed to come into life again and made an unnecessary display of his fondness and servitude towards Alexander. But by that time most of the guests and the host himself seemed to fall too deep under the influence of Dionysos and the revelry continued well into the first hours of the next day.

I woke earlier that morning or, more exactly, it was already the early afternoon as the sun was rather high on the horizon. Most of those who attended the banquet were still asleep and I strolled from the backyard towards the forest where I noticed the group of people, Hephaistion among them. To my great displeasure Bagoas was there too, also a few locals and Ashlan. When I came closer, I realized that Bagoas was laughing; I rarely heard such a derisive laugh, even from him. In the short breaks between the laughs, he was telling something to Ashlan and it was quite easy to see that the young man didn't like at all what he was hearing.

"What's the matter?" I asked Hephaistion who watched the scene with a cold face, the displeasure was too obvious on his beautiful and noble face.

"Bagoas discovered that Ashlan wasn't Zhuduruck's eunuch but his youngest son. The poor man didn't want to be thought as some backward dignitary from a city of no significance in the empire. He knew that in Persia any lord of the slightest importance kept a eunuch and he thought that the Great King will despise him for the lack of one. He begged his son to play the role but then, seeing Alexander's interest in the boy during the party, he started to regret his somewhat hastily made decision. As you could see, Bagoas didn't like the attention that Alexander was paying to Ashlan either though I think that my king did it out of courtesy to his host.

Anyway, Bagoas woke up earlier and started to snoop around the house. He didn't suspect the truth but he wanted to make sure by threating Ashlan that he wouldn't dare to make any further appearance as long as Alexander stays in this city. I came here just a short time ago, I wanted to see this unusual forest while most of my comrades and Alexander himself were still asleep. Bagoas was already here and he didn't fail to apprise me of his discovery. I am not going to allow Bagoas to take advantage of this young man and his father by further humiliating them before Alexander and the rest."

While Hephaistion was telling me all that, Bagoas continued to mock Ashlan in Persian. At the time I had only a limited knowledge of the language but it wasn't that hard to guess that he was insulting the young man. Surprisingly, Ashlan, though remaining silent during Bagoas' outburst, didn't blush or looked humiliated in any way. As a matter of fact, he just politely smiled and stood there, almost immobile, modestly casting his eyes downwards. In the daylight he looked no less beautiful than during the evening hours of the banquet but one could plainly see that his well-toned body was too masculine and well developed to be that of a eunuch.

Then he took an advantage of the moment of silence and started to tell something to Bagoas in surprisingly friendly and very polite manner. The translator who accompanied Hephaistion helped us to understand what Ashlan was telling. He didn't deny the ruse that his father employed on the previous evening but he didn't stoop as low as to explain why his father did it. He asked Bagoas, though without degrading himself to begging, if he would consider keeping the secret of his real identity between the people present and promised not to show himself to Alexander or anybody else from his entourage as long as the king stayed in their city. In return, he admitted, somewhat reluctantly, that the king was wrong last night when he attributed the softness of his skin to the grace of gods. As a matter of fact, he spent, just like the other noble young men of this valley, a lot of time on keeping his skin smooth and tender. The ability to do so was considered a very important skill and it was a very well-kept secret. In exchange for his silence, he was ready to divulge this secret to Bagoas and provide him with means of being able to keep his skin flawless and soft forever.

It seemed like a fair bargain to Bagoas and after just a short hesitation, he agreed to it though he insisted that nobody else from Alexander's suite were allowed to share this knowledge. He looked with challenge at Hephaistion and myself but we didn't dignify him with any sort of answer. Bagoas decided to take advantage of our indifference and hurriedly retired in Ashlan's company.

We would forget about the incident if not for the outrageous behaviour Bagoas continued to exhibit. No, he kept his word and didn't reveal to Alexander or anybody else the true status of Ashlan who also kept his part of the bargain and never showed himself in Alexander's presence till we left. As a matter of fact, after that morning encounter in the meadow in front of the forest, we never saw Ashlan again but till this very day I savour the pleasant memory of his revenge upon Bagoas.

As I already mentioned, Bagoas' behaviour from that morning became even more obnoxious than before though one would think it wasn't possible. He fawned and snuggled up to Alexander in public displaying his feverish desire to be taken by the king right then and right now. He constantly mentioned the smoothness of his skin shamelessly hinting that it was the same in the most hidden and intimate places of his body and it was going to give a heavenly pleasure to Alexander. The king seemed curiously surprised by such an ardent display of willingness even coming from Bagoas and wanting to taunt his eunuch, exerted the unusual degree of self-restrain and didn't invite him to his bed for a few days.

Then Alexander decided that he was going to return back to Maracanda and Zhuduruck felt obliged to throw a farewell party for the king and his people. To the surprise of those who noticed, Bagoas didn't show up at the banquet and when Alexander sent one of his pages after him, he got a response that the eunuch was preparing himself for Alexander and hoped that the king won't mind his absence. The king laughed whole heartedly and commented that nobody took the business of pleasuring him as seriously as Bagoas did. In the end of the banquet, rather deep in his cups, Alexander announced that he had enough for the evening and that he was going to leave to enjoy the pleasures of flesh that Bagoas was so busy preparing for him.

We all were rather drunk and nobody cared much about the vulgarity of the phrase though I think that Hephaistion wasn't too fond of such an obvious display of wantonness from his king. But the general never was the one to show his emotions openly in public.

When the king left, most of us tried to outdid each other in creativity suggesting one scene lewder than the other but soon we all took our leaves trying to get some rest before the return journey.

I didn't think too much of Bagoas next morning, I was too busy with the departure. Then, after the final goodbyes were made, I suddenly saw one of the Alexander's pages, heaping the coverlets and pillows on Bagoas' horse. Did I mention before that Bagoas was a rather accomplished rider and always prided himself for the ability to ride a horse for many hours even during the inclement weather and harsh terrain? But something was wrong with Bagoas this time. When he appeared, he could hardly walk and his face was covered with some sort of the cloth leaving only the eyes, full of pain and suffering. His arms, hands, and as a matter of fact his whole body were hidden under the swath of material and it looked like he didn't wear any jewels. He tried, unsuccessfully, to mount a horse but failed miserably and in the end was hoisted up by Alexander's pages.

The king didn't seem to take any interest in Bagoas' state, as a matter of fact he was rather frustrated with something we didn't dare to guess. Bagoas didn't make it far, even though he was tied to his horse so he wouldn't fall. After a few hours of not very strenuous ride, we made a stop at the first small village and Alexander gave orders to leave Bagoas there because it was evident that the eunuch couldn't continue any further. Alexander left a generous amount of money for the villages to take a proper care of his eunuch and left one of his pages with him.

The page returned to Alexander only after a few months right before we moved into India but Bagoas wasn't with him. Following Alexander's order, he was brought to the palace of the local satrap in Hyrcania and we didn't see any more of him till he joined the army in Carmania a few years later. But from Kostas, the page that Alexander left to take care of Bagoas, we learned what happened to the eunuch.

Ashlan didn't take Bagoas' humiliation as painlessly as he chose to show us, most probably he was a proud young man who disliked the fact that his father presented him as his eunuch trying to impress the king. It's hard to know whether he liked the kind of attention that Alexander gave him but if I had to bet on the matter, I would say he did not. However, what was beyond any doubt, is that the gods gifted Ashlan with a flawless skin, at least in his youth and he used Bagoas' craving to possess the same skin eternally as a means of his revenge.

Remember I told you about the forest of akharot trees that was in the close vicinity of the city? Zhuduruck was right praising its nuts, I never ate any nuts more delicious then those and Alexander fell so much in love with them than he bought many sacks of those nuts from Zhuduruck and arranged that from now on the city was to supply the empire with them. Alexander wasn't the only one who appreciated the taste of those nuts and now you can see not only the nuts but the trees as well in the many corners of the land that Alexander once conquered. I've heard that they grow them now even in Macedonia and all over the Greece.

But back to Bagoas and his punishment. The edible part of the nuts, a kernel, is found inside a hard brownish shell which in its turn enclosed in a green, leathery fleshy husk. This husk is rather hard inside and outside when the time of the harvest comes but in the early summer, when we visited the city, its inside skin is smooth and soft and with an easy squeeze releases a pleasantly smelling ooze. This very ooze, according to Ashlan, was the secret of his smooth skin. He said he anointed himself with it every day, taking the husks from the trees when they were young and soft and using the stored amounts in the time when husks was too hard to squeeze. Surely, Ashlan demonstrated the process on himself first to avoid any suspicion. He said he was going to make his servants to bring him fresh fruits every day while Bagoas stayed in the city and give him a generous supply of the ooze when he had to leave. Not suspecting any trick or maybe too eager to attain that perfect smooth skin that his king so admired, Bagoas applied on his face the generous amount of the ooze same very day. It felt heavenly smooth and pleasant and in a few hours, when he ran his fingers over his face, he could feel the effect that exceeded his wildest expectation. Bagoas had a very good skin to begin with and he always took a proper care of it but after a few hours of the first application of that ooze, it felt even softer, pleasanter to touch and to Bagoas, delirious with satisfaction and desire, it seemed like the gods themselves would envy such a skin.

And then he was struck with the idea that seemed absolutely ingenious to him at the time. Probably, the skin of his face wasn't the only place that could benefit from such treatment. Smiling contently to himself, he first applied the ooze to his lips and then, undressing himself, smeared the generous amount of the substance on his buttocks and the hole between them. It felt heavenly and Bagoas, demanding more nuts from the servants, applied the ooze all over his body. Impatiently waiting till the evening, he crawled to Alexander's bed, but it was when the king decided to tease him and said he was too tired to indulge in the pleasures of sex. Flustered, Bagoas went back but decided to try his luck next day and then the next day and the day after that. He started each morning with applying the ooze all over his body gently rubbing especially generous amount into his lips and anus.

And then on the fourth day he woke up in great pain. Not realizing right away from where it came, he looked at his body and discovered with horror it was all covered in dark brownish glaze. Even the slightest movement caused him almost unbearable pain because the glaze started to crack revealing raw red patches underneath. The moan escaped his lips but the opening of his mouth brought even more pain since his lips were covered in even harder and thicker layer of glaze. He froze in horror realizing that his lips weren't the only place that he so generously smeared with the ooze. He didn't dare to move and with suppressed moans leaned back onto his bed.

He remained there for as long as he could not daring to call anybody for help. For his luck nobody bothered him that morning, everyone was getting ready for the farewell banquet that Zhuduruck was giving later that day. But the time came when the call of nature was no more possible to suppress and Bagoas crawled in misery and horror of the anticipated ordeal to the washroom. He passed out in pain half through the process of emptying his bowls and came back to reality some time later finding himself dirty with his own feces, his pain throbbing through his entire body and nobody there to witness his pain and humiliation and offer any help.

He managed to get to his knees and started to clean himself with water. In order to successfully finish this process he had to grab one of the towels and rolling it into the cylindrical form, clench it between his teeth in order not to scream. The ordeal almost made him faint again out of sheer pain he had to endure and the big salty tears that run down his cheeks only brought additional suffering to his cracking skin. After some time, he managed to drag himself back to his bed still preferring to bear it all alone and not allowing anybody to know about his misery. He didn't eat the whole day in the fear of having the need to answer another nature call and made a heroic effort to wave away one of the Alexander's pages who came inquiring whether Bagoas was willing to have a light meal some hours ahead of the banquet.

He managed to remain still for a long time and even fell into the fretful sleep. He was woken up by another Alexander's page when the banquet was well under way. Bagoas blessed Ahuramazda that long time ago he requested from Alexander that his pages were never allowed to enter his premises without knocking and he had the right to refuse of showing himself to them in which case they were supposed to pass Alexander's orders through the door or the hanging curtain in order not to witness the process of Bagoas making himself ready for the king.

The page was in a hurry, he wanted to deliver the message and get back to the feast. Not wishing to show himself to the king or anybody else in that sorry state of affairs, Bagoas, with great effort suppressing the pain in his cracked lips, managed to inform the page that he was making himself ready for the king's pleasure feverishly praying to Ahuramazda that Alexander won't require his presence that night. But Bagoas was out of luck. The page informed him in this case he should prepare himself well because king specifically required his services later that night and that somebody was going to fetch him to Alexander's bedroom upon the king's order.

Bagoas didn't even feel the pain that his salty tears caused to his face, he was too horrified of what waited for him later that night. He again started to pray feverishly to Ahuramazda and all the lower spirits that he knew that Alexander would change his mind and won't request his presence that night. But Bagoas was definitely out of luck. A few hours later another page came and requested Bagoas' immediate presence in the king's bedroom; the page informed the eunuch that he shouldn't keep the king waiting, Alexander was rather advanced in his cups and wanted to get what he wanted immediately. Bagoas mumbled a weak, "of course, right away, I'll be with my king momentarily" and slid from the bed with a great effort. Not daring the refuse the king's demand and dreading the possibility of explaining what happened to him to the impatient king, Bagoas decided that if Ahuramazda wished him to die that night, he will meet his end stoically.

But before meeting his own end, figuratively speaking, he had first to meet Alexander's, which was quite literal. The king was too drunk that night to notice that something was wrong with Bagoas and too impatient to indulge in careful lovemaking. Almost immediately he grabbed Bagoas by shoulders and pushed him down onto the bed. He entered the eunuch hard, without any preparation and with a lot of force and when he heard an almost inhuman wail of pain, he slapped him hard across his back thinking that the eunuch was unwilling to receive his attention. But soon, as drunk as Alexander was, he realized that something was wrong with Bagoas, so much so that despite his burning desire he had to pull himself out of the eunuch and when he saw that his penis was covered in blood and some flaky scales of skin, his desire webbed away rather quickly. The Bagoas was unconscious and when Alexander tore the clothes that Bagoas' unmoving body was wrapped in, he saw that the entire eunuch's body was all covered in some sort of scales.

Dreading the poisoning or gods only know what else, he quickly cleaned himself and called his pages to fetch the local doctor or somebody else who would know what happened. It wasn't an easy task in the middle of the night after the banquet. In the end, it was Bagoas who came back to his senses and seeing that he has no choice, told the king what happened to him.

Alexander, usually so generous to the eunuch, suddenly felt that he overindulged in his obsession with a submissive and but very skillful creature. He left Bagoas to rest in his bed and before leaving to spend the rest of the night elsewhere, told the eunuch if he won't be well enough to travel with them in the morning, he would be left in this city until he recovered and was able to travel. Dreading to be left on the mercy of the citizens of this city who, he had no doubt, will learn quickly about the reasons and means of his demise, with great effort he managed to join the king's party in the morning. The king's party travelled light and didn't have any palanquins where Bagoas could rest. He had no choice but to mount the horse. After a few hours of ordeal he hardly knew what was going on and was in no condition to protest when Alexander gave orders to leave him in the first village they encountered.

So, this is the story of what happened to that obnoxious eunuch; nobody felt much sorry for him because he alienated many people with his haughtiness and stupid presumption that he was above others only because King Alexander paid him special attention.

I hope this story was sufficiently entertaining for you, my dear student, and you are not going to run to your father complaining of my lessons being boring and lacking zest and spice."

A/N #1: The nuts mentioned in this story are walnuts. I came up with the idea of this story when I read an article about Arslanbob, the biggest walnut grove in the world. If you google the name, many articles will come up. The article that I read mentioned that Alexander himself visited the forest and fell in love with the nuts. When I checked the geographical location of the grove, I realized that it was a wishful thinking by the authors, however, it was not far from the area that Alexander indeed conquered (northeast of Alexandria Eschata). Nevertheless, many articles name Alexander as a person who introduced walnuts into Europe. There must be some truth behind the fact because for example in Russian the walnut called "Greek nut". But I decided to go with a fairy tale version and made Alexander to take a trip to Arslanbob. However, because Arslanbob is the later Arabic name, I came up with my own.

A/N #2: The torture that Bagoas had to endure was not simply a fruit of my imagination. I had to admit that many years ago I and few of my friends were tricked in Crimea to apply this ooze on our lips in order to make them softer. We did it only once and the amounts were minuscule. For a few days the lips remained soft and smooth but then, a few days after, just like in the story, we woke up with our lips covered by thick brown crust. No amount of water, cream or oil helped. It took us more than a month to have our normal lips back…


End file.
